Napa

by Kate Damon

Elizabeth Ashford, the beautiful, strong-willed daughter of a California vintner, longed for the day when she might escape the secluded Napa Valley and see the world - until Jean DeMille entered her life. The bold young Frenchman, drawn to the California goldfields by the promise of adventure and wealth, came to the valley with a modest fortune and a dream of establishing a wine-growing empire in this lush new land.

Together, Elizabeth and Jean founded the DeMille Vineyards, an enterprise whose phenomenal success exceeded even Jean's wildest hopes. Their marriage, though often stormy, was to result in a dynasty that would influence the course of history.

Yet the DeMille legacy of power, wealth, and fame contained the seeds of rivalry and dissent which, once sown, were destined to bear bitter fruit for generations to come....

425 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1989

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Napa Valley, 1863. Elizabeth Asheford chafes at the simple life of a vintner's daughter in boring Napa Valley and sets her cap for Harvard bound Jake Duncan, thinking he's her ticket out of town. Enter the older, but oh so charming Jean DeMille and he sweeps her off her feet, but she still wants the high life and thinks she can convince her new husband to return to France. Fool her, Jean loves Napa and wants to create wines as great as those of his forebears and he works long hours, leaving a disgruntled and somewhat neglected Elizabeth pining for more. Jean is successful and builds Elizabeth a grand house in San Francisco at the top of Nob Hill and years later she meets up with spurned Jake Duncan and he's hot to get his revenge - a revenge that has unforeseen consequences on the next generation.

The DeMilles' two sons, Peter and Marcus, are two very different men. Peter is self-centered like his mother and only concerned for money to drink and gamble, while Marcus is as devoted to the family winery as his father - although he fears he'll never earn papa's respect. When the great earthquake strikes in 1906, every one's lives are forever changed and set the two brothers on a path to destiny that only one can finish and treacherous Peter makes sure that destiny is in his favor. Or is it?

I love all things California and most especially love visiting the Napa Valley (wish I could afford to more often), so I snapped this up when I spotted it on my feeds at Goodreads. I did enjoy it, but Elizabeth was a bit too full of herself and it took too long before she saw the forest through the trees and appreciated her husband and family (although she did pay a big price for that selfishness). There was a bit too much telling instead of showing, but overall a fairly good read. I especially liked the name dropping of some of Napa Valley's players and legends, from Robert Louis Stevenson at his *hideout* at the old Silverado mine to Charles Krug to Far Niente and the Schramsbergs themselves - so that was a really cool bonus. All in all a fairly good solid read for a rainy afternoon, but I'd probably only recommend it for those who must read all things California and those interested in the early days of Napa Valley wine making. Three stars.

[Diane Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first three quarters of this book. Loved the early days in Napa Valley setting, and the wine making and grape growing history. I even enjoyed the characters, despite a somewhat annoying main character. But then there was the next generation. I really lost interest at about 75% and had a hard time finishing. Four stars for the historical parts and two for the sloppy ending.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to reread this book. What I remember is it was just like a soap opera that follows a couple and then goes onto follow their children. Also, that it had MANY grammatical errors! Hahaha. However, from what I remember it was hot and steamy and ridiculously intriguing!